Nigel Burton is the current head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 for the Portland State Vikings

Portland State Vikings

Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon...

 college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 team.

Playing career

Burton grew up in Sacramento where he attended Jesuit High School. He attended the University of the Pacific in 1995, but when the school eliminated its football program the following year, he transferred to the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

, where he graduated in 1999 with a bachelors degree. He played safety for both schools' football teams. He earned all-academic honors from the Pacific 10 Conference three times at Washington and later earned a masters in business administration at the University of South Florida

University of South Florida

The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...

.

Coaching career

Burton's first coaching job was as a defensive assistant for South Florida

South Florida Bulls football

The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS college football program that plays its home games in Tampa, Florida. The team began playing in 1997, holding its first team meeting under a shade tree as the school had no proper football facilities on campus...

 in 2000. From 2001 to 2002, he coached defensive backs at Portland State, and then from 2003 to 2007, coached the secondary at Oregon State

Oregon State Beavers football

The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...

. In 2008, Burton was named defensive coordinator at Nevada

Nevada Wolf Pack football

The Nevada Wolf Pack Football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Western Athletic Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NCAA...

.

In 2009, Burton was selected to replace Jerry Glanville

Jerry Glanville

Jerry Glanville is a former American football player and current head coach of the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, former NASCAR driver and owner, and sportscaster in the United States. He served the head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986 to 1990 and the Atlanta Falcons from...

 as the head coach at Portland State. He became the second African American head football coach in school history after Ron Stratten

Ron Stratten

Ron Stratten was the head coach for the Portland State Vikings college football team from 1972 to 1974. He compiled an overall record of 9-24 in three seasons. Stratten was one of the first African American head football coaches at a university with a majority white enrollment.Stratten resigned...

, who coached in the early 1970s.

Head coaching record